A renter has expressed her frustration after she was sent an email from her lettings agent that she claimed was "extremely rude" - as it told her to clean her house to prepare for an upcoming inspection. The woman's home had recently been visited by her lettings agent, but after reporting that the property was "untidy", the agent has now told the renter that her landlord wants to inspect it herself.
In a letter informing the woman of her landlord's intent to visit, her lettings agent told her that her home "could be cleaner" and said one of the main issues with the state of the house was the presence of "clothes on the floor". The message left the woman reeling, as she took to social media to say she was "sick" of being told to keep her home looking like a showroom.
The email, which the woman shared on Reddit, read: "The owner is in town and wishes to see the unit herself. Can we please book the inspection for Tuesday between 0900 - 1200? We will confirm a specific time closer to the date.
"During the inspection, we noted that the bedrooms are untidy, clothes on the floor, spiderwebs near the balcony doors, and the bathroom and shower area could be cleaner. I would suggest you tidy the place so it's better to present to the owner.
"Thank you for your co-operation."
The renter, from Australia, also shared further context for the situation in her post, where she explained the message had left her fuming because the "mess" in the property was actually nothing more than the usual signs of a home being lived in - including freshly-washed clothes hanging to dry and make-up that had been left on the bathroom counter.
In her post, she wrote: "We've been living here for two years and there has been so much water damage to the property and other issues surrounding that. Last week, they wanted to come and do a 'valuation' - not an inspection.
"As we are really busy people right now having a lot going on with work, we didn't clean and prepare for this like we usually would for an inspection. However, the apartment is by no means dirty, it's just untidy - there are clothes horses around and the benches need a proper wipe. They could see from the last inspection not long ago that we take very good care of the home and they would have photos.
"Then we receive this email. Actually f**k off. We don't live in a display home, this is our home, so there will be washing piles and sometimes make-up on the bathroom counter."
And her post was titled: "Is it just me or is this extremely f***ing rude from the real estate? Sick of this, it is our HOME."
The woman later took to the comments to share the email she had sent back to her letting agent in response, where she said the previous visit had been conducted "in between our cleaning and tidying cycles" and said she had found their message "quite rude".
She explained: "Just to note, as we are very busy people with a lot going on, the apartment will not always look like a display home and will at times look lived in.
"As this previous visit was termed an 'appraisal' and not an official inspection - we didn’t take the time to make it aesthetically pleasing for you and as such, you caught us in between our cleaning and tidying cycles.
"I apologise if this email has come off confrontational, this is not my intention, however, we found your comments quite rude and as such just wanted to clarify that if it had been made clear that this was an inspection, then we would have made a concerted effort to have the unit tidier for your viewing."
Commenters on the post were quick to defend the woman, with many saying they never make their house look "spotless" for an inspection - as that's usually not why a landlord wants to check the property.
One person said: "I purposely make sure I have some clothes laying around. It shows that the place is lived in and not spotless all the time. My real estate agent said she inspections are mainly to see that there is no physical damage to the property, not if there are some clothes on the floors/beds and some cobwebs."
While another added: "As an owner that is all I care about. My agent gets back to me and mentions cobwebs, dust, untidiness, etc and I say I don't care. All those things can be cleaned when the tenant leaves, all I care for is actual damage that will cost time and money to fix."
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at yourmirror@trinitymirror.com .
.png?w=600)
